Blackjack in the Republic of Georgia
November 30th, 2010 at 11:19:52 AM
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I am trying to figure out which Blackjack game has the lowest house edge.
In both casinos the dealer does not take a hole card, if dealer has BJ only original bet is lost if double or split, stand on soft 17, double on any 2 cards, double after split, split up to four hands. The only differences are as follows
Grand Sakartvelo (Tbilisi, Georgia) 8-deck shoe:
surrender on first two cards including against dealer's ace, surrender 2nd bet after a double
Casino Adjara (Tbilisi, Georgia) CSM:
surrender on any number of cards, surrender on individual hands after a split (except if aces were split), the only other times you can't surrender is after you have doubled or if the dealer has an ace
I am still getting used to the dealer not having a hole card. At first I thought the Casino Adjara rules were more favorable because I would get three or four card 15s or 16s against a dealer's ten and surrender. But being able to surrender against a dealer's ace seemed almost as advantageous when I was at the other casino. Since I do not have the mathematical ability to prove that one version of Blackjack is better than the other, I was hoping that one of the many mathematically gifted people on this forum could provide some insight. Thanks in advance for any help.
I was also wondering if there was a basic strategy chart for what totals you should and should not surrender against the dealer's card if you just doubled?
In both casinos the dealer does not take a hole card, if dealer has BJ only original bet is lost if double or split, stand on soft 17, double on any 2 cards, double after split, split up to four hands. The only differences are as follows
Grand Sakartvelo (Tbilisi, Georgia) 8-deck shoe:
surrender on first two cards including against dealer's ace, surrender 2nd bet after a double
Casino Adjara (Tbilisi, Georgia) CSM:
surrender on any number of cards, surrender on individual hands after a split (except if aces were split), the only other times you can't surrender is after you have doubled or if the dealer has an ace
I am still getting used to the dealer not having a hole card. At first I thought the Casino Adjara rules were more favorable because I would get three or four card 15s or 16s against a dealer's ten and surrender. But being able to surrender against a dealer's ace seemed almost as advantageous when I was at the other casino. Since I do not have the mathematical ability to prove that one version of Blackjack is better than the other, I was hoping that one of the many mathematically gifted people on this forum could provide some insight. Thanks in advance for any help.
I was also wondering if there was a basic strategy chart for what totals you should and should not surrender against the dealer's card if you just doubled?
November 30th, 2010 at 5:21:16 PM
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This is almost as good as the guy who posted about casino rules in -- where was it -- Zambia?
The first game seems better off the top. The early surrender rule against the ace is especially player-favorable. I get a break-even, 0% H.E. game with those rules. You should surrender a 15 against a 10, and a 16 against a 9,10,A. The double-down "rescue" adds another .10% for the player, making this game slightly player advantage. You should rescue anytime your expectation is less than 25% on the double down. You can get those figures from the Wizard of Odds charts. A good rule of thumb would be surrender any stiff hand against 8-A.
I've never heard of a surrender-on-any-number-of-cards rule, so I'm not sure how much of an advantage that adds, but I'd make an educated guess it's not enough to make the second game as good as the first.
The first game seems better off the top. The early surrender rule against the ace is especially player-favorable. I get a break-even, 0% H.E. game with those rules. You should surrender a 15 against a 10, and a 16 against a 9,10,A. The double-down "rescue" adds another .10% for the player, making this game slightly player advantage. You should rescue anytime your expectation is less than 25% on the double down. You can get those figures from the Wizard of Odds charts. A good rule of thumb would be surrender any stiff hand against 8-A.
I've never heard of a surrender-on-any-number-of-cards rule, so I'm not sure how much of an advantage that adds, but I'd make an educated guess it's not enough to make the second game as good as the first.
"Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe." -Rig Veda 10.34.4
November 30th, 2010 at 10:44:26 PM
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Thanks for the help. It is greatly appreciated. Having only played blackjack in vegas and biloxi, ms I too had never heard of being able to surrender on any number of cards. It sounds like I can't go wrong with the first game so I think I will play there.
